SCHOOLS in Northern Ireland are to receive an extra £5 million towards energy costs this year, the education minister has said.
It comes amid the prospect of a £13m increase in energy costs, including gas, electricity and oil over the next year.
Michelle McIlveen has confirmed that she instructed the Education Authority (EA) to allocate the additional funding to "mitigate against the combined impacts of rising energy costs coupled with increased ventilation in schools during the winter months".
There have been a number of recent rises in energy costs, with prices expected to soar even further amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With schools having to pay for fuel and electricity from their own budgets, figures reveal that schools could face a £4.7m rise in energy bills in 2020/21.
An increase of just under £8m in 2022/23 is also anticipated, according Department of Education estimates.
Ms McIlveen has said that more funds will be allocated to schools to cover the increasing energy costs, however, it remains unclear when they will receive the extra money or how it will be allocated. She confirmed the funds in a response to an assembly question from independent MLA Claire Sugden who asked the DUP minister for "her assessment of the impact on schools as a result of rising energy costs".
"I recognise that energy price rises will result in increased utility bills for schools and I fully acknowledge the concerns expressed by our school leaders in this regard," said Ms McIlveen.
"For this reason, I will be instructing the Education Authority to allocate almost £5m of additional funding to schools to mitigate against the combined impacts of rising energy costs coupled with increased ventilation in schools during the winter months.
"Schools will be notified of their individual allocations in due course. In the meantime, any school facing financial difficulty should contact the EA, as funding authority for grant aided school, in the normal way."
